As portable electronic devices increasingly have more functionality and become more available, more users may own such devices. The devices can be used to store any suitable information, including for example, media, application data (e.g., contacts or calendar events), text and number documents, or combinations of these. In some cases, the devices can operate one or more applications that can provide particular functionality to the user of the device. For example, applications can relate to one or more of games, e-books, business, education, finance, healthcare, lifestyle, navigation, news, productivity, reference, social networking, sports, utilities, travel, and weather. Using the electronic devices, users can generate or access information (e.g., data or application displays) that a user may wish to share with others.
Users can share information using several different approaches. In some cases, a user can show an electronic device display to another user, so that the other user can copy off of the display. This approach, however, fails to take advantage of the fact that the other user may have an electronic device as well. In some other cases, a user can send an email, text or media message, or other message over a communications link, where the information to share is incorporated in the message. The receiving user can then view the information from communication, and copy and paste the information as desired.
In some cases, two electronic devices can instead or in addition form a direct communications path. For example, two electronic devices can share a key over a communications network (e.g., a passkey in a Bluetooth® network), and establish a secure communications path. As another example, two electronic devices can detect a same or similar accelerometer output, and use the accelerometer output as a key to secure a communications path. These approaches, however, can require a user to generate or enter a key, or require a particular component in the device (e.g., an accelerometer or other sensor).
Once two electronic devices share a common communications path, the electronic devices can share different data. For example, the devices can share information on an application level (e.g., share application data between two instances of an application operating on different devices). In particular, photos, contacts, or calendar events can be shared by an application.